Sunday Dinner

Ölmanäs to Mölndal/Gothenberg (Sun 19th July;48.3km @ 20.9kph)
After a late start, we cruised the final kilometres to Sigrid's parents house in Mölndal. We found them waiting with Sunday dinner ready. We'd made it after 9 weeks and 4295 km (Don's computer) of cycling.
Since arriving, Sigrid's bike has gone in for a service and we have relaxed and had a couple of restful days with family and friends.
Apart from flat tyres and a couple of broken spokes, the Avanti bikes performed pretty well. We have a fair bit of Sweden to explore so will be back on our bikes again soon.

Sweden, Here We Come

Copenhagen (DK) to Båstad (SW) (Wed 15th July; 113.74km @ 19.5kph)

After a night looking around Copenhagen we took off early to catch the car ferry from Helsingör (5okm north) to Helsingborg in Sweden, a 20 minute crossing. We enjoyed the tail wind and warm sunshine, the warmest we had had since Greece/Turkey. We were hoping to get to, Båstad, a coastal town famous for its tennis. It just so happened that the day we arrived was in the middle of the Swedish Open. The town was full of people in a party mood! (this is where the people party) To get to Båstad we had to cross Hallandsåsen, a rise dividing the provinces Skåne and Halland. We arrived in town fairly tired when Sig´s phone rang and it was her mum who wanted to know where we were. When she heard we were in Båstad she gave us the address of her old student friend who lives there in summertime. We were welcomed with open arms by a fit 85 year old Britt who quickly installed us in her guest cottage. We then enjoyed a swim ( 50m to the beach) before being fed a home cooked chicken casserole. Her daughter and husband also live nearby in the summertime so after a lovely dinner we took a walk with them down town and mingled with the crowds. Scandinavian summer evenings can be very special as the soft summerlight shimmers on the sea.

Båstad to Olofsbo (Near Falkenberg) (16th July, 118.23 @20.1 kph)

The invitation to stay a few days sounded tempting but as we were expected up the coast we thought we'd better keep moving so after a hearty breakfast it was back in the saddle.

After a sometimes frustrating day of on and off the cycle path and lack of signage we finally arrived at Olöfsbo, where we had decided to camp by the seaside. Once again, this place was full of Swedes on vacation and enjoying the warm weather and the beach. We had a great evening in a friendly pub with live music and dancing. We both had enough energy to wiggle our hips a bit on the dance floor.

Olofsbo to Ölmanäs ( Frid 17th July, 72.89km @ 20.7kph)

In Falkenberg we picked up a booklet of the cycle route we were trying to follow and this made all the difference. We had a special day riding along the coast. It is very scenic and we were blessed with no wind and beautiful sunshine. There were many little swimming spots and with the water temperature of 21C it was great. We arrived at our friends' house where we had arranged to be by lunchtime. Bitte and Jonas live in a lovely cottage that Bitte's father built as a summerhouse but which over the last 10 years has been converted to a very comfortable home. We again had a little guest cottage . The summer days are long up here in the north so there was plenty of time for a boat trip out to their little island where we swam, talked and enjoyed fruit and coffee which Bitte had packed.

The next morning we woke up to a cold , rainy day and we were happy not to ride. It was the 20th birthday for their son Kalle and a party was planned for the afternoon. So it was a busy day moving furniture and sorting food before guests arrived.

Today, Sunday 19th July, it is 9 weeks since we took the boat out from Istanbul . We have ridden about 4500km, learned a lot about geography, rivers, history and bikes. We have been received with genorosity and friendliness and have enjoyed the simplicity this sort of trip offers.

To everyone who has sent us encouragements with emails & texts we would like to say thanks.

It is always such joy to open mail and find a greeting. When you ride a bike you realise how big the world is but with emails and SMS you realise it's not so big after all. (Even though it took us 12 days to hear of Michael Jackson's death)

It has been an amazing journey and although it will be great to reach the final destination it will be a bit sad to end.

We have now approx 50km to ride to Sigrid´s parents place in Mölndal near Gothenberg where we are expected for Sunday dinner.

Over the next few weeks we hope to be able to download more photos of the latter part of the trip. Next weekend we have the wedding of Sigrid's niece which of course was the inspiration (excuse) for this folly. It looks as though we are going to make it on time.

Sigrid and Don

The Aegean to the Baltic

Lubeck (D) to Copenhagen (DK) (292.49 km at 21.3kph)
The last three days we have left Germany and are now in Copenhagen, Denmark. We thoroughly enjoyed our rest day in Lubeck, famous for its marzipan, beautiful Hansa buildings and the hometown of Willy Brandt, the famous German statesman. Before leaving Germany it was great to see the sea again. It has been a long time since the Agean Sea in Greece to the Baltic Sea in northern Germany. We gleefully dived in the water but quickly figured out why no locals were swimming but sitting on their deck chairs- the water was a bit chilly.
After two big days in the saddle (127 and 125 km) over gently undulating terrain( Denmark is NOT flat) and a tail wind it was a small ride into Copenhagen this morning (42km) where we found a vacancy at the YHA right in the centre of the city. So today and tonight we'll be doing the tourist bit in Copenhagen. Don is hoping that Princess Mary will be free for a cup of tea.Tomorrow we catch the ferry for Sweden and we should reach our final destination of Gothenberg by this weekend.

Dresden to Lubeck (6 days: 633.49km @ 19.5kph approx)
In the last 6 days since we last reported it has been steady riding, following the Elbe River through Germany towards Hamburg. In Dresden we checked maps and realised how big this country is, particularly if you follow winding rivers. The weather hasn't been the greatest: a strong head wind and rain showers. We are now approaching the 4000 km mark of our journey.
The Elbe marked the border between East and West Germany and we have mostly been in the former eastern part. Along the border we have cycled past old abandoned observation towers and remnants of the old fence. Many of the villages are still paved in parts by cobblestones which look beautiful but not too friendly to ride on and certainly slows down the pace.
Three days ago on the little village of Niegripp we stopped at a pension , and when the lady saw the tents on the back of the bike she asked if we preferred to camp in the backyard ( €5 instead of €50) which we thought was great. When her husband heard we came from Australia he immediately rang Siegfrid, who was home visiting from Oz. Siggy (his nickname) came over and we were shouted to beer and Jaegermeister by our host. Siggy escaped East Germany in 1966 when he was 17 and now lives in Queensland. We had a great evening and slept very well .
Yesterday we left the river and headed north towards Denmark. We are currently in the lovely old Hansa city of Lubeck. If we can get a YHA booking for tonight we might stay and have a rest day before tackling the 90km to Puttgarten where we will take the ferry to Denmark and then move on to Copenhagen and the final part of the journey.

The Elbe Cycle Route

Prague (CZ) to Dresden (D) 271.73km @ 19 kph 

The last three days we have been following the Elbe River from Prague in Czech Rep. to near Dresden in Germany. We have enjoyed the bike path that closely follows the river even though we have had to back track at times because of flooding. We have shared the bikepath with many other cyclists fom Dresden who have been enjoying the weekend sunshine. The Shoalhaven City Council should take a look at the potential from tourism such a bike route gives an area. We have enjoyed the scenery and every turn of the river a new vista or castle greets us.

Via email from Bev Louken we had been told Cathy Bennet (Federal) was riding from Dresden to Prague, so we kept an eye out for her. As we now and then deviated from the bike path we were not sure if we had missed her but no, all of a sudden, Don yelled out " Cathy!!".  She nearly fell off her bike. She was riding south with 3 other ladies from Shoalhaven. We sat down at a nearby cafe and enjoyed a beer and compared notes/maps. What a coincidence. We also swapped some money, as Cath had just arrived in Czech and we were leaving.

We later camped at the campsite they came from and for the first night in a week there was no thunderstorm/rain. So by now we had entered our next country:Germany. The bike path in this area follows a very beautiful section of the river through the Saxon-Switzerland National Park. The hills goes down to the river and there are many castles, forts and churches perched on the cliff tops.

Wendy Fetchet had organised us with a contact (parents of an exchange student, Lea, who lived with them 2 years ago) outside Dresden so after a stroll around this beautiful city we continued on.  Gunther and Inez lives near the bike path and we are now at their  house. We have enjoyed a lovely evening with homecooked food, a breakfast to kill for in the garden and are now ready to hit the tarmac again.  We thank them for their great hospitality.

After looking at maps we have figured out we can´t doddle too much -there is still a lot of Germany to go through and we have about 2 weeks to get there.  So we will be continuing along the Elbe for the next few days. 

Czech Republik

Linz (AU) to Prague (CZ) 229km @ about 19kphWe left Zell am See well rested and took the train back to Linz. From there we rode to the Austrian border town of Bad Leonfelden. It was a sunny afternoon but after the rain the humidity was oppressive. It didn't help that straight out of Linz the climb started which was to continue for the next 20 km. We had to stop several times just to catch our breath. As we arrived in Bad Enfelden we found the YHA but it was closed up with a note on the door to ring a number if we wanted the warden. She arrived promptly and opened up for us. So we had a YHA all to ourselves.
The next morning we rode downhill for 6km before crossing into Czeck Republik. The difference in the two countries was noted straight away as Czech was less manicured and more natural. We pretty soon arrived at the Vltava River which we followed downstream to Cesky Krumlov. The river was flowing strongly and was full of people rafting downstream, stopping at cafes for beer and food.
Cesky Krumlov was the prettiest little town ever. They call it "Little Prague". It is nearly surrounded by the river and has a castle overlooking it. The town has lots of cafes, music clubs and art galleries. We found a good cheap Pension to stay at and had a great evening sitting by the river listening to a fantastic band playing all the "oldie" songs.The rain started but we were under cover but the river was getting pretty high.
The next day we followed the river but decided to take to the hills as a lot of the country was waterlogged.
In Tabor (approx.. 80km south of Prague) we were picked up by Josef who visited Sigrid's home town in 1969 for athletics. He took us to his house outside Prague where we now have had 3 fantastic days with him and his wife, Jitka. After a days orientation of Prague by Josef and Jitka, yesterday we took the train into town for a good look around and today wen rode to Karstein Castle.It was a lovely ride through white poppy fields and decidious forests , then a tour of the castle (which even the Swedes couldn't conquer during the 30 year war)
Tomorrow we will continue north towards the German border and Dresden. Now the rivers are running north so we are actually following them downstream for a change.